Patient Stories

Avery Berg was diagnosed with a cancerous AT/RT brain tumor at age 10. After she braved six months of chemotherapy and radiation, Seattle Children’s neurosurgeons performed a highly challenging surgery that saved her life in January 2017. Avery is now cancer- and tumor-free and doing extremely well. If Avery’s cancer were to return, there was no known treatment until Seattle Children’s recently launched a CAR T immunotherapy research trial called BrainChild, which offers hope for the future for all children with brain cancer.

Milton Wright III has only worked at Seattle Children’s for a couple months, but the hospital has been his second home for much of his life. Wright’s childhood unfolded within Seattle Children’s walls...

Derailed by leukemia as a sophomore in college, Camille Goodale went through standard chemo treatments, but her cancer returned a year and half later. After joining a Seattle Children’s CAR T immunotherapy trial and undergoing a bone marrow transplant, her cancer is now in remission. She plans to finish her college degree at Colorado State University and one day hopes to open a sandwich shop in Santa Cruz, Calif.

The worst day of Sarah and Antony Cross’ life was when they found out their 2-year-old daughter, Erin, had leukemia.

“Erin endured years of chemotherapy, and we thought we had the cancer beat,” said Erin’s mother, Sarah. “She blossomed into a beautiful, healthy girl. She was doing really well at school, making friends, just being a normal kid.”

“As a parent, you never want to hear that your child has cancer,” said Paul Esposito, of Plano, Texas. “It creates an emotion that starts at your feet and takes hold. It’s devastating.” This was the terrible news Paul and his family received in 2010 when his son, Zane Esposito, was only 7 years old.

A first-person perspective from mom Dani Cole, whose daughter, Emmy, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at 2 years old in 2015. In total, Emmy spent more than 200 nights at Seattle Children’s through more than 18 months of treatment, including three surgeries, five rounds of chemotherapy, 20 rounds of radiation, a stem cell transplant and a type of immunotherapy. With a smile that lights up a room, the spirited toddler battled and beat the deadly cancer thanks to the expert clinical care and groundbreaking research that saved her life – and the financial assistance that allowed her parents to focus on her health rather than the cost of medical care needed to restore it.

Jude was not responding to traditional cancer treatment. Out of options for their 18-month-old son, Jude’s parents didn’t know if he was going to survive. "Two or three years ago, there would have been no option for Jude other than hospice care," said his mom. "Jude is alive because of this incredible research and the people who give money to organizations like Strong Against Cancer. We are so incredibly grateful to them all."